How I Met Your Father
by 23a
Summary: Spurred by her telling of their first encounter, Emma sets off into the past to save the man she loves, with the help of his father, but sees more than she bargained for.
1. So how exactly did you meet?

Emma sighed. The time travel incident was over, Regina was mad at her... just a normal day. That is, until Henry broke the friendly chatter with an overly-loudly asked question. "Mom, so, Grandma and Grandpa are always talking about how they met... how did you and dad meet?"

Emma spit out a bit of her drink. She spun around to look at Henry, noticing all eyes on her.

"Henry, this is not the time. Maybe when you're older."

"Mom!"

"Actually, Emma", said Snow, "I'd like to hear this story."

"Me too", said Hook, beside her.

"Yeah", Tink put in.

Emma groaned. "Really, guys?"

They all agreed, and Emma finally said, "Fine! But I'm only telling it once, so listen up."

At that moment, Rumple and Belle walked in, having just gotten married, and Rumple asked, "What's all this about?"

Henry spoke up. "Mom's gonna tell us the story of how she met my dad!"

Rumple raised his eyebrows at Emma. "Are you now?"

"I really don't seem to have a choice, so yes."

"Well then. By all means, begin."

* * *

"Ok. So, I was 17, and I was walking down the street in Portland, Oregon. I had just recently escaped the foster system, and I had learned how to survive on my own. I found a yellow bug and I used my tools to start it."

"Emma, you stole a car?", Snow asked, shocked.

"Yes. Anyway, I started driving, when someone popped in from the backseat and said, "Impressive. But you could have just asked for the keys."

Snow chuckled. "Armed robbery."

Emma continued. "We were driving, and he said he wouldn't press charges if I let him take me for drinks. I said no because he could be a pervert, and he said that he may be a pervert, but I was definitely a car thief. I was distracted, and ran a red light. A cop stopped us, and Neal pretended I was his girlfriend and he was teaching me how to drive shift. The cop bought it, and let us go. I didn't understand why he saved me, until I realized that he didn't own the car either."

"_Bae _was stealing a car?", Rumple asked, confused.

"Yes."

"So, I'm guessing you went on that drink date?", asked Charming.

"Yes. He got us coffees, and then showed me how to pick a lock when he broke us into an amusement park that was closed for the night. We sat down on the Italian Trapeze and had a conversation."

"About what?", asked Hook.

Emma sighed, having hoped to not answer that part. "I asked him to tell me his story. He did, cryptically, which I now realize was because he was trying to avoid using the words Enchanted Forest, magic, or Dark One." She took a deep breath and continued. "He said that he left home because his father... changed." She glanced at Rumple, who had a pained expression on his face. "But that before that, it was home. And then he said that that's what home is. It's a place that when you leave, you just miss it. I'd never had a home, so all I had to go on was his word." She looked at her parents now, both wearing looks of such guilt that she wished she hadn't said it. She became acutely aware of everyone in the diner, and moved to quickly wrap up the story.

"We became partners, robbing convenience stores and living in the car, and occasionally abandoned hotel rooms. He stole my key-chain for me. One day, we found a dream-catcher in one of the rooms, and then Neal decided that we should settle down somewhere and live together. He held out a map, and told me to close my eyes and point, and I picked Tallahassee."

Regina looked at her, remembering that she had lived in Tallahassee for two years.

"But then Neal got busted for some watches he had stolen, and said he had to leave and go to Canada - alone. But I came up with an idea, that I would fetch the watches, he would sell them, and we would get fake IDs and go to Tallahassee. I did, but he apparanetly got stopped by August along the way to sell them... and he called the cops, and I got arrested. I found out I was pregnant, and I also got an envelope with the key-chain, including the keys to the Bug."

There was a long moment of silence, which Henry broke. "So... you met while stealing the same car?"

"Yep, kid, we did. That's some story to tell to your friends, isn't it?"

**Warning: If you have liked this story so far, and do not like the ship of Neal and Emma, stop reading here. This is the ending. Otherwise, read on!**

"So... you loved him, even though it wasn't true love?", asked Tink.

"It was", said Emma. "I know that now."

"When did that happen, Emma?", asked Snow.

"The minute he was lost to me."

"They are true love", said Belle. "The key-chain, which is not of the Enchanted Forest, made it back there. The only way that could happen is if it was born of true love."

"So... I'm the product of true love?", asked Henry.

"Yeah, kid, you are."

"Then I have magic!"

"I... suppose so."

Emma suddenly remembered the wand, the one that allowed her to open a time portal. She had an idea. "And true love is worth fighting for", she said, looking at her parents. "It can survive anything, even death. I... have a mistake to correct." She turned to look at Hook. "Oh and Killian... I'm sorry, we can't be together." She walked out of the diner, planning what she would do next - she was making another trip to the past.


	2. Into the Past

Emma snuck into Rumple's shop, looking for the wand. It had to be in there somewhere. She was about to try and use magic when she heard a key in the lock. She froze, thinking for a moment, and realized there was only one thing to do. She concentrated on her magic, and... she was outside. After Rumple and Belle entered the shop, she re-entered.

"Closed", he said.

"You'll want to hear this", Emma replied.

"Oh, really?"

"Yes."

"What?"

"I can bring back your son."

A look came over his face, one of hopefulness, but it was soon gone. "Oh yeah, how?", he asked sarcastically.

"Time travel."

"Really? You saw what Zelena had to do."

"Yeah, but, to get back, all I had to do was use a wand that can recreate magic. I can do it again."

The hopeful look came back again, but disappeared. "Messing with the past is a bad idea."

"There's a way that can avoid that."

"How?"

"We go right to the moment he died, and you can do a preservation spell on him like Regina did to Henry in Neverland. Then we bring him back with us and figure out a way to save him."

"That's... actually quite brilliant."

Emma smiled. "Thank you."

He went into the back and came back with the wand. "Alright", he said. "Let's go."


	3. Lost in Time

**_Meanwhile in the Diner_**

Hook still stood there, dumbfounded, with his mouth open.

"Close your mouth", Henry said.

He blinked. "What? Oh. Sorry, lad."

Snow and David were playing with Neal but also wondering where Emma had gone off to.

"Where did she even go?", asked Regina, echoing their thoughts. "Does she think she can bring him back or something?"

Hook thought about their time travel journey. "She can."

"What?!", Snow exclaimed.

"Because of our time travel journey, she has the ability to open a time portal. She's probably going back to get him."

"YES!", Henry exclaimed. "She's gonna get him back!"

"I wouldn't get your hopes up", David said. "But maybe."

* * *

_**Back to the Story That People Are Actually Interested In**_

Emma fell out of the time portal, looking around at the forest at night. Night?! Why night?! Rumpelstiltskin fell out behind her.

"What did you do?", she asked immediately.

"What?"

"Time portals take you to where and when you think of. I was thinking of when he died. In the DAY. This is NIGHT. And not the same forest. So what did you do?"

"Well... what would happen if you thought of a person instead of a time and place?"

"I don't know. You're the expert."

"Well, I would say you probably would end up somewhere on the person's timeline..."

"So you're saying we could be anywhere on Neal's timeline?"

"No. Not Neal's. _Bae's._"

"You mean... as a kid?"

"Probably."

Before they could say another word, a woman walked out from behind a tree. "Rumple?", she asked. "What are you doing here? I left you in the house! With a young child who needs watching!"

"Um... who's this?", Emma asked.

He seemed too in shock to answer for a moment, but eventually said, "Ms. Swan, this is Milah."

"Milah... I've heard that name..."

"My wife."


	4. When Are We Now?

"Your... right, Ne - _Baelfire's _mother", Emma said, too in shock to get anything else out.

"Rumple, why are you here? And who's this?" He waved his hand, and she suddenly collapsed.

"She won't remember this", he said. "Now let's go."

Emma re-opened the portal, and they went through it.

* * *

It was day now, but they weren't even in a forest. They were at the edge of a town.

"Really?!"

"Shut up, Ms. Swan." Emma rolled her eyes. Suddenly there was a noise in the bushes. He pulled her behind one. In front of them was a slightly younger version of Rumpelstiltskin, with a 6-or-7-year-old boy.

"Is that?"

He raised his hand to shut her up, but nodded slightly.

"Papa, papa!", the boy said.

"Yes, Bae?"

"Can we get a meat pie?!"

Rumple smiled. "Sure we can. After I sell the wool for the week."

They walked up to a table and laid out several pieces of spun wool. Nobody seemed to want to buy any. After nearly an hour, a quarter of the wool was gone, which seemed satisfactory to Rumpelstiltskin. He put the rest back in the bag and walked with Bae to a cart selling meat pies.

"Well, well, well", the man in the cart said. "If it ain't the village coward."

"2 meat pies, please", Rumpelstiltskin said.

"That'll be 6 silver."

He looked in his bag. "Can you take 5 silver?"

"6, or nothing, coward."

"One meat pie, then."

"3 silver."

He paid and got the meat pie, then gave it to Bae. "Don't you want some, Papa?", Bae asked.

"No, that's alright Bae." They walked off.

Emma and the older Rumpelstiltskin got out of the bushes. "What was -"

"Not one word about that", he said.

Emma nodded and reopened the portal, and they stepped in.

* * *

It was night again, and they were in the same forest they had been in before, but there was no Milah.

"Great", Emma said. "When are we now?"


	5. Discoveries

They walked a bit further, when suddenly there was a loud noise, followed by screaming and a green light. Rumpelstiltskin instantly drew back, but Emma kept walking until she could see what was happening. Rumpelstiltskin was leaning over the portal, and Bae was falling into it, grabbing his hand. Emma couldn't make out the exact dialogue, but Bae was trying to get Rumple to go with him, and he was saying that he couldn't. Eventually the moment came, and Emma found herself looking away as Rumpelstiltskin let go of his son's hand and he fell down into the unknown. She reopened the portal without a single statement and walked inside, Rumpelstiltskin following.

* * *

Both Emma and Rumpelstiltskin had nearly forgotten the mission looking at the last memory, and the thought that crossed both their minds was where Bae had ended up after falling, and what had happened to them. So that was what they saw. They were in an attic, hidden, and saw Bae walk up and steal the bread, and saw Wendy give it to him. When she smiled at him Emma felt an inadvertent pang of jealousy. After they left, she finally spoke.

"He never told me about this", Emma said.

"He didn't even tell you about the Enchanted Forest."

"I meant after."

"Well he didn't tell me either."

"Yeah but you let him fall through a portal."

"I didn't mean to!"

"You could have gone with him."

"I was afraid."

"That's not an excuse."

"Shut up, Ms. Swan. Although frankly, you shouldn't judge. You could have kept your son too."

"I was in prison!"

"And I was a slave to evil."

"Huh? Ok, whatever."

They snuck away from the attic, and Emma re-opened the portal, stepping out into broad daylight. But again, they were not in a forest. Emma knew exactly where, and when, they were. They were in an alleyway in Portland, in the year 2000. And they weren't alone.


	6. Front Row Seats

"Ms. Swan, would I be correct in assuming that -"

"Yes," she said, tears starting to fall from her eyes that she was doing her best to blink back. "This is it."

"The day you met my son."

"Yes."

"So Bae is in that car?"

She nodded. "Let's go save him."

"Indeed, let's."

Emma was about to open the portal when a younger version of herself entered the alleyway. She and Rumple ducked behind some bins. They watched her hijack the car and drive it off, and, on impulse, Emma found herself following a bit. She shook her head and walked back. "Let's go."

He nodded and they went again into the portal. Unfortunately, they were again in the wrong time.

* * *

They watched as Neal taught Emma how to get through the amusement park fence.

"Your first date," Rumpelstiltskin said.

She nodded. They listened in on the conversation, Rumple wincing a bit at Neal's comments about his father.

When the two left the park, Emma found, to her dismay, that she was crying. Rumple took the wand out of her hand and opened the portal himself.

"Ms. Swan."

She nodded and walked through it. Again, they did not end up where they wanted.

* * *

"Where are we?" he asked. "When?"

"Night I got arrested," she said. Before any more could happen, she opened the portal, and then they were outside a small window looking into a jail cell.

"And this would be?"

She nodded. "The day I found out about Henry."

"That's the end of the story, then."

She looked at him. "We both know it's just the beginning."

"But we've covered Bae's entire life, from childhood to having a child himself."

She nodded. "So now, we'll get where we want to go, hopefully."

She opened the portal again and they stepped inside.


	7. Accomplishment?

Emma gulped and tried not to do anything stupid. She had known what she was getting into, but it still didn't prepare her for watching him die again. Beside her, Rumple seemed to be thinking the same thing.

"We have to time it exactly right," he said, and she could hear how strained his voice sounded. "The us in the past have to believe he is dead, or we will alter the timeline and could do serious damage."

Emma nodded. "So... like, seconds before he died?"

"Something like that," he replied. "Mind if I cast the spell? I have a bit more experience."

Emma nodded. "Do your thing."

They waited for an agonizing couple of minutes before Rumple raised his hand and directed the preservation spell at his son, making him freeze and appear very much dead. With that accomplished, both looked away and covered their ears for the next sequence of events. With Zelena and the past Rumple finally gone, they moved to take the body, but Emma froze. "Wait," she said, "If we take the body... what will we bury?"

"Bury..." he said, and then, with the realization, "I missed his funeral."

"Well, we would have invited you, but -"

"Yes, I know, I was slave to a witch," he said. "Anyway, I can make a copy that looks exactly like him."

Emma nodded. "Ok. Then do it."

He cast the spell, and a body appeared to the right of Neal's. Then Emma opened the portal, and Rumple carried Bae into it, Emma jumping in after them.

* * *

"We did it," Rumple said when they arrived. "He's alive."

"But still under a preservation spell," Emma added, "Which he will die seconds after the removal of."

"Oh... yes," he said. "But we'll figure it out."

"Yes," Emma said, "We will. We have to."


	8. There Must Be a Solution

**Eep... sorry for the long wait time. **

Emma could feel her hair getting all tangled, but she didn't have time to worry about it. She _had _to find a way to save Neal. Going through all these books had yet to provide her with a solution - apparanetly dying from trading your life force to save your Dark One father was _not _a very common occurrence. She knew Belle was also looking through books, as was Rumpelstiltskin. They could ask for more help, but they had decided to keep it a secret until they found a solution. They didn't need Henry getting false hope (mostly Emma's concern), or the entire town interfering and messing things up (mainly Rumple's concern). They believed that they would find something, though. Rumpelstiltskin had suggested many times that maybe he could undo Neal's sacrifice, but Belle kept insisting that there had to be a way to save Neal without doing that. She had suggested True Love's Kiss, but this wasn't a curse or spell, Neal just didn't have a life force in him.

He didn't have a life force in him.

Of course.

Emma could hardly believe her own stupidity.

* * *

"Gold," she said, knocking on the door. She had never been to his house before, and it was strange.

He opened. "Emma, what is it? It's the middle of the night."

"I know. But I think I may have found a way to save him."

"Come in." He led her to the couch and the sat down. "Alright, what did you find?"

"Well, it's not really a find, more of a thought."

"What?"

"He's not dying from any spell or curse or anything. He's dying because he doesn't have a life force in him. So we just need to get him one."

"Well, yes; I have been saying I could give my life, but Belle -"

"No," said Emma, "I think there's a way we can give him a life force without anybody dying."

"How?"

"Well, how is a life created?"

He gasped and gave her a look of disgust. "You are not seriously considering -"

"Okay, not what you're thinking of."

"Then what?" he said, relaxing.

"We use something from a life that Neal himself created, to bring him back."

"Henry?"

"Yeah. Part of Henry _is _Neal. So part of Henry's DNA might give him life back."

"That seems _extremely _far-fetched."

"Well, yes it does. But it's worth a shot, isn't it?"

"I suppose. How do we get Henry's DNA?"

Emma raised her eyebrows. "I'm his mother, how hard do you think it was?" She held up a hat. "His hair's in here."

"Alright. Let's give it a try."

* * *

_20 minute later_

"Ms. Swan, I do believe you are a genius," Rumpelstiltskin said.

"Wait, it worked?"

"I think so. He appears to be alive."

"But, if we remove the spell... that's it. No more chances."

"Indeed. Do you think it's worth it?"

"If you really think it worked, then yeah."

"I do." He took a deep breath. "Alright then." He waved his hand and removed the spell.

"Is he alive?" Emma asked.

Rumpelstiltskin looked over his son's body. "He's alive."

Emma just about let out a cheer. "But... not awake."

"No, that might take a while." Suddenely Neal's eyes shot open. "Or not."

"Papa? Emma?" Neal asked. "What... what's going on?"


	9. Happily Ever After

"Neal!" Emma exclaimed.

"Bae!" Rumpelstiltskin shouted at the same time.

"Neither of those is an answer to my question. What's going on?"

"Uh..."

Rumpelstiltskin shrugged. "Your idea, you answer it."

"Fine. Okay. So... we went back in time, froze you with a preservation spell, brought you here, and then found a way to save you by using Henry's DNA."

"Right. Yeah. Okay. What have I missed?"

"I married Belle," said Rumpelstiltskin.

"Oh. Well... Congratulations, Papa." He turned to Emma. "Hey."

"Hi..."

"So it was your idea to come and save me, huh?"

"Yeah..."

Rumpelstiltskin quietly exited the room, and Emma sighed. So much for putting off this talk. "Well, I love you."

"Really?"

"Neal, I have always loved you, and I realize now that it's true love."

"Really? You mean that?"

"With all of my heart."

"I love you too, Emma. Truly." He smiled. "With all of my heart."

"Great. Let's go find our son."

"Sure."

"Oh wait... it's the middle of the night. I'll be back in the morning."

"Oh. Sure."

* * *

"Henry!"

He turned around. "Dad?!"

"Henry! It's good to see you!"

Henry ran towards his father, arms out, and hugged him. "I love you, Dad."

"I love you too, Henry."

Emma smiled at the two of them before joining the hug.

And they all lived happily ever after, until the next evil threat that came to attack them.

**A/N: And so I conclude this story. Thank you so much to everybody who read, reviewed, favorited, and followed this story! Hope to see some of you on my other stories and you all rock!**


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